CDC Panel Recommends That Long-Term Care Communities and Health Workers Get Vaccines First

The New York Times reports that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that residents and employees of nursing communities and similar care settings be among the first people in the United States to receive coronavirus vaccines, as well as healthcare workers at particular risk of exposure. CDC Director Robert R. Redfield is expected to decide by Wednesday whether to accept the recommendations as the agency's formal guidance to states. States are not mandated to comply with the panel's recommendations, but they typically do. State governors, who are consulting with their top health officials as they complete distribution plans, will make the final decision. The committee said these interim recommendations could change as more is learned about how well vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna perform in different age groups, and how well the manufacturers keep up with demand. About 3 million residents in long-term care and their caregivers are a relatively obvious target, as a New York Times analysis estimated that 39 percent of deaths from the coronavirus have occurred in such communities. Most panel members who offered opinions on the vote agreed that the high death rate among long-term care community residents made their inclusion imperative.